H.S. BASKETBALL: Abington's Andrews is always adapting

Since Bryson Andrews took the floor as a freshman on the Abington High boys basketball team in 2015, he’s been adapting.

During his three years on campus, Andrews has learned a new position, developed an all-around game and handled defensive game plans centered on stopping him.

“(His development) shows that he loves the game,” said Abington coach Peter Serino. “He’s in here working all the time. Literally, all fall, he would come in and work on stuff off the dribble, pulling up, not going near the rim. It speaks to the competitor that he is and the passion that he has for the game of basketball that he wants to get better in every phase and is willing to do the work.”

Those improvements have paid off, not only for Andrews, but also for his team.

“The success we’ve had this year is in large part due to him increasing the level of play of his teammates,” said Serino.

The Green Wave have narrowly missed the tournament each of the past two seasons, but are in prime position to return this winter. Abington is 8-5 and needs just two more wins to earn a bid to the Division 4 South Sectionals.

“We have a more diverse team this year with Jack (Maguire), Kels (Justin Keleher), (Anthony) Muniz and Jarae (Cole), our big man, everybody can score on the court,” said Andrews. “It’s going to be a fun ride. … We can go far in the tournament. We have the depth on our bench. We have four seniors in the starting lineup.”

The adjustment to high school varsity basketball is a difficult one for any freshman. Things weren’t easy on Andrews as he was also a learning a new position – point guard. Up until high school, he had played shooting guard or small forward due to his height. Most of his freshman season was spent learning how to be a floor general behind Tyler Mariano. Andrews’ talent was too tantalizing to have him playing off the ball the majority of the time.

“It was an adjustment for him but for us (the thinking was) he has the potential to be the best player on the floor at all times so we want the ball in his hands,” said Serino.

By his sophomore season, Andrews had become Abington’s starting point guard while also being its top scoring threat.

Opponents took notice. Cohasset and Rockland double-teamed him.

“It was frustrating,” said Andrews. “As a player, you want to score, you want to do good for your team, you want to do a perfect job but obviously you can’t do a perfect job, especially against somebody that is double-teaming you.”

Andrews went through bouts of sophomore slumps.

“You knew that he’d be able to handle the ups and downs,” said Serino. “Last year he had stretches where he’d score two or three points and then he’d score 30. We knew as a person that he could handle that, whereas sometimes other kids you need to make sure you’re putting them in positions where they won’t fail.”

With a still-developing game, Andrews earned Enterprise All-Scholastic honors last season as he averaged 14.5 points, four rebounds. 3.6 steals and 2.5 assists per game. As a junior, those numbers have jumped to 17 points, three assists and seven rebounds per game.

The junior has taken his game another notch up this season. Last season, he was primarily a slasher. This season, he’s become a better passer with a more versatile offensive game. His scoring has also been more consistent.

“As I watched the tape and (listened) to what my coaches were telling me, I was all drive,” said Andrews. “(Now) I put the pedal to the medal first and get scoring early. Once everybody has attention on me then I can kick it out to my teammates for open threes and open layups and just open the game up.”

“He can score in any way,” said Serino. “This year he’s rounded out his game a little bit. He can still get to the rim and finish but he can also pull up, he can shoot the three a little bit. Scoring is No. 1, but as this season has gone on he’s done a lot better job of getting his teammates involved.”

Andrews’ vast progression is thanks to his work ethic, which helped him become Serino’s first junior captain.

“Off the court he’s a basketball junkie, which we haven’t had here at Abington in awhile,” said Serino. “He’s a kid who is in here all fall at 6 a.m. getting shots up, working out in the weight room. That’s just a culture change for us to have somebody doing that in basketball.

“You talk to any of his teachers and they talk about how he’s polite, he’s funny, he excels in school. He’s taking AP classes as a junior. He has that vibrant personality and on top of it he has the work ethic. He’s not just there because he’s good at basketball. He’s a kid we want our younger players to look up and to understand that to achieve his success you have to put the work in that he put in.”